FOR THE CHILDREN

Asta Ball; Burlington The writer is a former member of the Burlington Board of EducationTHE HARTFORD COURANT

Two years ago I suggested at a building committee meeting that the "annex" offices be moved. In recent budget hearings, this subject has been brought up again and again. It is of paramount importance that the superintendent and his staff have offices at the Lewis Mills High School, where morale is said to be low, to bring about greater interaction among superintendent, students and faculty.

Regions 1 and 5, as well as many other school districts throughout our state, have their administrative offices in their respective high schools. Inasmuch as we have ample space at our high school to house Region 10's administrative offices, this project should be incorporated into the upcoming Lewis Mills renovation project.

With the lack of ADA-approved facilities, the annex would never withstand an OSHA inspection in its present condition. The possibility of its needing a new roof could send the cost of updating as high as $200,000. With utility costs alone amounting to approximately $16,000 per annum, usage of this 3,161 square feet of office space on one floor is not warranted, and, incidentally, without a written lease.

The building is the property of the town of Burlington. Maybe the town of Harwinton could apply for a refund of some of its tax dollars, which have been pumped into costly renovations and upkeep over these past years.

On our way to the Information Superhighway, I would think, for instance, that irreplaceable records such as board of education meeting minutes, which must be kept indefinitely and are being stored in an open wooden book shelf, could be put on discs or microfiche.

While we are contemplating logically located administrative offices, let us consider a truly revolutionary idea, namely, putting up instead a new structurally sound building "for our children." I propose putting in place of the annex a teen center. Let the youth of Burlington enjoy a place they call their own. In contrast to other towns and cities, Burlington offers nothing to its teenagers. These are the sons and daughters of our taxpayers who spend boring summers without job opportunities in this town, some of them are just hanging out at local establishments.

Of course, if we were really industrious, instead of putting up a new building, we could make use of the space already in existence such as the school cafeteria, rather than having our elaborate school buildings and facilities being unoccupied for half the year. The battle cry during this last budget hearing process always echoed "the children," "the children." So, if we mean what we say, let us do some "barn raising," and give these youngsters a place where they can, with voluntary supervision, listen to their music or have regular weekend dances; or work with artisans in this town to cultivate their flowers or grow their tomatoes.

Take these teenagers off the streets and give them meaningful, unstructured time to learn, enjoy, and congregate. After all, "the children are our future."